Child porn distribution ring inquiry leads officials to Sacramento

Last week’s arrest of the Mather man suspected of possessing hundreds of photographs depicting child pornography stemmed from an investigation initiated by the San Francisco Police Department earlier this year.

The department’s investigation has led to the arrest of four additional suspects from around the state thus far, in what authorities are calling a pornography distribution ring, according to a department news release.

Michael Deon Brown, 42, was arrested Sept. 27 after an investigation by the Sacramento County sheriff’s High-Tech Crimes, Internet Crimes Against Children Bureau found that Brown allegedly sent and received more than 600 images of children 10 and younger in sexually explicit poses through mobile and computing devices, according to the Sheriff’s Department.

His arrest stemmed from a San Francisco Police Department Internet Crimes Against Children Unit investigation beginning in March that looked into several people who were uploading and distributing child pornography online, according to a San Francisco Police Department release.

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Initially, the ICAC unit was able to identify two San Francisco suspects, Gary Waite, 38, and Danica Morais, 34, and arrested them in late June for allegedly possessing and distributing child pornography.

Their arrests led detectives to determine that other individuals were receiving child pornography from Waite and Morais, according to the release. That included San Francisco resident Lorenzo Brown, 36, who was arrested on suspicion of possession of child pornography Aug. 3 after police said they determined he was saving explicit images that Waite had sent him.

A Los Angeles man identified as Justyn Tomblyn, 35, was arrested by the Los Angeles ICAC Task Force Aug. 16 and charged with possession of child pornography. His arrest, along with that of Michael Deon Brown, is said to have stemmed from the Morais case, according to the police department

The Sacramento Sheriff’s Department said an investigation into the Michael Deon Brown cases was ongoing and that detectives were trying to identify additional victims, as well as location where incidents could have occurred, according to a department press release.

He is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday in Sacramento Superior Court. The Sheriff’s Department asks anyone with information regarding the case and his potential involvement with minors in the area to contact Sacramento Sheriff’s Department Detectives at 916-874-3002.